Cathay to Acquire New York Bank

Chinatown’s Cathay General Bancorp announced Wednesday that it has agreed to purchase fellow Chinese-American bank Asia Bancshares Inc. in Flushing, N.Y. for about $126 million in cash and stock.

Cathay, L.A’s second-largest Chinese bank – and fifth-largest overall, with $11.5 billion in assets – will get a bigger footprint in New York City as part of the deal. It adds three Asia branches in New York City and one in suburban Washington, D.C. as part of the deal, bringing its total Big Apple presence to 12 storefronts.